


At Your Best (You Are Love)

by Trustmeimahealer



Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/F, mainly just my girls on an adventure in space, other characters may pop up, post Endgame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-02-27 10:50:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18737536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trustmeimahealer/pseuds/Trustmeimahealer
Summary: Carol Danvers doesn't like feeling weak.So why is she asking the one person to make her blush up into space with her?AKA did someone say two old space warriors learning to be vulnerable with eachother???





	1. Chapter 1

The truth is, Carol Danvers had a history of keeping people at arm's length, well perhaps she wasn’t as bad once, before Yon Rogg and Mar-Vell and the efforts of fighting her way into the air force. That isn’t to say she isn’t loyal to Maria and Monica and Fury till the ends of the earth, or that she wouldn’t lay down her life for her new avengers. 

 

But it had been a very long time since someone had seen her  _ vulnerable _ , Maria had been the last, so long ago now she can barely remember. Maria looks at her sometimes in expectation, waiting for Carol to relax and vent to her as she used to, hoping they might just fall back into what they had before Carol disappeared. 

 

It hurts Carol to know she can’t, but there was no way she’d offload a whole universe of responsibility and stress onto Maria. It was better she didn’t know any of it.

 

In the end, Carol decided to visit less often, face Maria’s disappointment and concern for as little as possible. It wasn’t fair to Monica either, crashing back into her life with no clear answer as to what she’s even been doing up there. With no clear answer as to why she chose to go back up there in the first place. 

 

It had started with the Skrulls, righting her own wrongs, helping them find a new home. But after a couple of years the Skrulls were fine, graciously releasing her from their service with the promise of a home in the new settlement should she ever need it. It wasn’t until she got back to her ship, all alone save for Goose, that she wasn’t entirely sure if she still felt as if she even had a true home. 

 

The guilt festered in her stomach for years, bubbling every time she considered the family she was choosing not to return to. But her excuses were valid, there were no shortages of good people who needed her help and it wasn’t long before Nick told her about the new team he was trying to set up, Earth’s very own heroes. Carol had resigned herself to live out her life in the stars, a legend among the galaxies. 

 

Of course, her plans changed after Thanos and the snap, Earth became the center of the effort to undo it and in truth, Carol missed having a team. Natasha was a fair and practical leader, there was a sense of mirth to her, even in dire situations, that reminded Carol of Fury when they first met. Carol had hoped Natasha might keep her warmth a little more than Fury had. Carol mourned her death. 

 

She had mourned for Tony too, though she had certainly spent less time with him, but she was the one who brought him home. Pepper had hugged her so tightly the night she brought him back, thanked her so honestly, Carol couldn’t bear to think of it now, how much they had loved each other. 

 

The others, of course, had grown on her, Rhodey’s loyalty, Nebula’s efficiency, Rocket’s wit, Okoye’s determination, and Steve’s old fashioned honor all drew her in. They were good people. People, she would be proud to fight alongside. 

 

Of course, it was not as easy with all of them, Thor and Bruce had mostly alluded her, retreating into their own lives rather than focusing on the team . Carol couldn’t blame them, really, especially Bruce, she knew what it was to bury oneself in a worthy cause. Thor, of course, was different, uncooperative and drunk, often veering toward brutish if Carol was being honest. But his people still spoke of him highly and his strength on the battlefield in Wakanda became the stuff of legend, even if he did not succeed. Carol’s seen enough strong soldiers who bear one too many battles and she can think of few who have lost more than Thor.  

 

That being said, she was thankful to see him there and fighting when she had returned, thankful for every face alive on that battlefield. The truth was that in these five years, Carol became a little more used to the idea that Earth could still be the center of her universe. 

 

But the team where no more than her team. She might share a little, she thinks she once told Nat the name of the town she grew up in, but it wasn’t the same. They were not those kinds of friends. 

 

That being said, the after parties were still great fun; Asgardian alcohol was just enough to get her properly drunk again and the Avengers certainly knew how to have a good time. Nick disappeared before the second round, promising Carol that he’d catch her before she left again. 

 

It was here she met Valkyrie of Asgard, knocking down a pint of ale in the blink of an eye, a challenge all over her face. 

 

Oh god, Carol just  _ had _ to talk to her. 

 

They had, of course, met first on the battlefield, Valkyrie had defended Carol and the gauntlet along with the other women fighting for the Avengers. Carol had been surprised to learn she hadn’t been lost in the snap, given that they had never met in the intervening years, but Valkyrie had been working at the slow job of rebuilding a home here on Earth and leading her people. Carol had met many leaders and monarchs over her time, some good, some cruel but none as passionate as Valkyrie as she spoke of creating her peoples new home. 

 

Now Carol was not one to get all gooey over a girl, she never had been. She preferred to let the objects of her affections work for her attention until she finally turns the tables and takes control. Even in a relationship, she always liked to have a more dominant position, sure she was always deeply caring and protective but she was never  _ flustered _ . 

 

But Valkyrie had been giving Carol this  _ look  _ all night, her pretty chocolate eyes confident and steady, coyly averting her gaze and batting her eyelashes has Carol stared at her. When Valkyrie leaned in and put her hand on Carol’s knee to make some suggestive comment (what, Carol can’t even remember) Carol blushed a deep crimson, her cheeks heating more in embarrassment at her response. 

 

Valkyrie looked like the cat who got the cream. 

 

God, Carol had wanted to just kiss her and get it over with, but it had been a while since she had done this and this was not her territory. This was not a random outpost dive bar, she would have to work with these people again. It would be handy if she could avoid mortally humiliating herself. 

 

Valkyrie looked like she just might lean in any way but Thor called for her, careening into the room, having the decency to look at little sheepish as he glanced between them. 

 

Valkyrie simply rolled her eyes and apologized for leaving the  _ conversation _ unfinished. 

 

If it weren’t for Thor already looking rather too excited Carol would probably have been bolder, said something charming enough to leave an impression. But the moment passed and Valkyrie ushered Thor out of the room without another comment. 

 

Carol had left not long after, regrettably unable to find Valkyrie before departing. She had decided it was probably for the best, the last thing she needed was another loose thread back on earth. 

 

But fate seemed to want to bring them together once more.

 

Now, standing at the gates of New Asgard, Carol asks herself exactly what she’s getting herself back into. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Valkyrie had indeed made some changes around New Asgard. With the help of Wakandan technology and a generous helping of private funding, the new country was thriving more than she had ever hoped. 

 

It had scared her, at first, when Thor had left her the legacy of their home but he needed time. God knows Valkyrie’s had her time in the past.

 

It helped of course, that the Asgardians were so few, it wasn’t hard to rally people into rebuilding. Thor, and by extension the Avengers, had a lot of powerful Midgardian friends who were very happy to help the new nation. 

 

And it was fulfilling, finally getting to feel like she was making a difference for her  _ people,  _ not her king. Her people loved her, and she could protect them here in a way she could never as a Valkyrie. 

 

That being said, there was a part of her that longed for her old freedom, for the thrill of a good fight or a fast ship. She was a warrior deep down, after all, and while she enjoyed ruling the lack of adventure did nag at her like nervous energy. 

 

So when  _ Captain Marvel  _ requested to meet with her to propose a mission, Valkyrie was more than a little intrigued. 

 

Carol had intrigued her in a number of ways, actually. Her performance on the battleground was legendary, a golden god of sheer power. It put Asgard’s “gods” to shame. 

 

But when they had met Carol was, distracted, certainly interested, but also a little unsure if they should even be talking at all. When Valkyrie had asked Thor about earth dating customs he hadn’t been hugely careful and Korg was next to useless.

 

She had been so sure when they were together, but Carol had left before she had returned. Valkyrie wasn’t usually one to second guess herself but on reflection, Carol’s hesitance may have been from discomfort and Valkyrie did not make a habit of harassing women who aren’t interested. 

 

But things had been complicated that night, there were a lot of loose ends around the universe that probably needed tying up. Valkyrie understood that Carol took that responsibility very seriously, certainly above any social or romantic feelings. Valkyrie simply didn’t want to misread the signals and make things awkward between them. 

 

This, however, was a mission - strictly professional - which she could most certainly do. She would hear Carol’s mission, and if the time frame is suitable to her duties on New Asgard, Valkyrie will be at her service. No flirting involved.

 

Even if Carol was a valiant sun warrior with an attitude and incredible hair. 

 

Valkyrie had asked that they meet in the new Great Hall, an expansion of the old town hall from the original village. The inside was still not close to the beauty of their old Asgardian architecture, but a large mural of The Almighty Thor vanquishing Hela takes the breath of any who look upon it. Another to the far side of the hall, Loki, and Heimdall stand tall, powerful and at peace. Thor would claim to hate them, but Valkyrie thought it would be important to remind him someday, of the hero his people see in him. It helped the people too, to see the past remembered and to reconnect with the culture they had lost. Bruce had asked her once why she wasn’t up there but they both knew. 

 

Valkyrie was never the type for vanity projects.

 

Now staring up at the great painting, she wonders how long it will be before there are children born who do not know their faces.

 

“They’re beautiful.” Carols voice breaks her out of her thoughts. Valkyrie turns to look at her, all smart in her suit and her stupid sexy hair, her eyes full of wonder as she inspects the painting.

 

“We were lucky to have kept some of our great craftsmen. It really does look like old Asgard.” Valkyrie smiles at the memory. “You should have seen it.” 

 

“I heard stories.” Carol murmurs. “A few smugglers claimed you guys had dragons.” 

 

Valkyrie laughs. “Not quite.” 

 

Carol looks at her, a wry expression all over her face. “Only flying horses.” 

 

Valkyrie tilted her head to the side with a coy smile. “Plus a little more.” 

 

Carol grins at her for a moment and then, in the blink of an aye she straightens, her face turning serious as she holds out a file for Valkyrie. “I need your help.” 

 

Valkyrie takes the file, skimming over it. “So I’ve gathered.”

 

“When Asgard fell, we began seeing old Asgardian tech pop up on the intergalactic black market. Obviously, we don’t want anything falling into the wrong hands but our only Asgardian speaking avenger is Thor who is  _ very  _ hard to get a hold of at the moment. I know this is important work you’re doing here but we really could do with your knowledge of Asgardian weaponry.” Carol looks so unsure as if genuinely worrying Valkyrie may reject her. 

 

Valkyrie doesn’t give anything away. “How long is this mission? I do have a nation to rule.” 

 

Carol shuffles on her feet, uncharacteristically nervous. “Around three weeks. I understand that’s a long time but you know how space is and,” 

 

“My council can run affairs for three weeks, providing I have enough notice to make preparations.” Valkyrie cuts her off, trying not to smile as Carol perks up. 

 

“Does that mean you can help?” Carol asks, returning to a cool confident gaze. 

 

“Provisionally. I usually charge a price for my services.” Valkyrie throws out there, feeling bold.

 

Carol doesn’t look impressed. “Did Thor buy you?” 

 

“Calm down Hotshot, it’s an easy price.” Valkyrie appeases, having clearly underestimated Carol’s attitude toward her mercenary past.

 

“And what would that be?” Carol looks a little cautious.

 

“I want my ale on board.” Valkyrie frowns as Carol burst out laughing.  “What?” 

 

“That was always gonna happen. I keep my whiskey fully stocked on board too, don’t worry.” Carol reassures, Valkyrie sags in relief. 

 

“Thank the gods, I was worried the Avengers would approve of such things on missions, least of all you.” 

 

“Oh the less we tell Fury the better on this one, but sometimes life out there,” Carol pauses, trying to find the right words. “It’s tough sometimes like I’m sure you know. There’s no harm in having some fun sometimes.” 

 

Valkyrie nods. “I couldn’t agree more.” 

 

Carol smiles but pauses, her face falling a little. “Why did you think I’d be any less likely to be ok with it than the others?” 

 

Valkyrie shrugs. “You didn’t seem too comfortable at the party, I figured you were a straight lace type like Steve.” 

 

Carol winces, rubs the back of her neck in a nervous habit. “I’m sorry about that by the way, for just leaving,” 

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Valkyrie waves her off with an easy smile. “I just hope I didn’t make a bad impression.” 

 

Carol smiles and Valkyrie feels a tiny flutter of warmth, unbidden, in her chest. “You could never, I’m sure.” 

 

Valkyrie holds out her hand. “Then we’re partners?”

 

Carol shakes it firmly, eyes sparkling in something Valkyrie can’t pinpoint. 

 

“Partners.”

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for the positive response on this, it really does mean a lot and its very motivating to write with :) 
> 
> Carol and Fury have a little chat and the adventure begins!

After Valkyrie had accepted her mission, Carol had excused herself from New Asgard despite Valkyries offers of hospitality, citing some important business with Fury she had to get to. 

 

It wasn’t strictly true, although Fury had asked her to check in with him, she didn’t need to leave New Asgard to do so. She still hasn’t even called him, slipping back into the new Avengers facility unnoticed by anyone who happened to be home from a mission. Or so she thought. 

 

“And how was your evening?” Fury’s voice, booming enough to make anyone else jump, Carol turned around to see him standing with two glasses and a bottle of very expensive scotch. 

 

Carol raises and eyebrow. “When did you learn the sneaking thing?” 

 

Fury shrugs. “I need some secrets, don’t I?”  Carol rolls her eyes and she swears she can see a hint of a smile. “Come on then, Danvers, debrief me.” 

 

He leads them through to the lounge, flopping himself down on the large leather sofa and beginning to pour them drinks. Carol sets herself down on an armchair opposite him, accepting her drink. “The meeting was,” 

 

Fury cut her off, “Meeting? Danvers come on we know each other better than that. You come sneaking back in late at night without a call and you ask me to buy that.” He tuts and Carol wonders if any of the other Avengers knew he can be like this. 

 

“It  _ was  _ a meeting, I left after she accepted.” Carol shrugs him off. “She seemed pretty into it.” 

 

“It?” Fury grins wolfishly and she fights the urge to just photon blast him off his stupid smug chair. 

 

“The  _ mission  _ Fury, christ you’re like a child.” 

 

“Hey now, its Director Fury to you.” He stiffens, scowling at her like she’s Peter Parker. 

 

“Absolutely not. You were just digging for gossip on my love life a second ago.” Carol slumps into the chair, a little petulant at Fury’s teasing. 

 

“I’m hardly going to share it, am I? You’d be surprised the delicate information I can keep to myself.” 

 

“I don’t doubt it. But you can rest easy knowing nothing is going on between me and Valkyrie.” 

 

“Oh come on, you jumped at the chance of a mission with her. I mean it really wouldn’t have been that hard to track Thor down.” 

 

“It would take half as long as the mission itself and we both know she’s more likely to recognize whatever we’re looking at. Plus far less likely to go wrong, don’t you think?” 

 

Fury rolls his eyes. “I don’t doubt she’s qualified for the job.” 

 

Carol sighs, looks down at her fingernails in false disinterest. “And, you know, she’s not  _ unpleasant  _ to spend time with.” 

 

Fury nods, knowing that he was probably at his limit on the topic, even with Carol he wasn’t really one to pry. They had an arrangement that allowed them to stay friends, there was no sense in changing it now. “Regardless, I’m glad to see you’re going to have some real company up there for once. I’d hate to see you go space crazy.” 

 

“Space crazy? Is that your professional diagnosis?” Carol retorts. 

 

“I’m being serious.” Fury stands, brushing himself off with a satisfied sigh. “The more friendly faces you got up there the better.” He makes his way over to her to put a warm hand upon her shoulder. “I take it you’ll be over with Goose before you leave?” 

 

“If you could, Fury, I’d appreciate it. He’s not every good with new people in close quarters.” Carol relaxes a little, reminded that, for all of his investigating, she truly could rely on Fury should she ever need to. 

 

He pats her shoulder once and then makes to leave, pausing at the door. “ Well, I hope you’ll enjoy your close quarters with Ms. Valkyrie.”

 

“Fuck off Fury,” Carol yells after him as he laughs his way down the corridor. 

 

What a little shit. 

  
  
  
  


The morning of the mission came quicker than Carol could have expected. That isn’t to say she’s  _ nervous  _ now, waiting in New Asgard for Valkyrie to come down to the ship, but she’d been chewing her nails for the past hour. 

 

“That’s not a great habit.” The voice, gentle as ever, breaks Carol out of her thoughts, she turns to see Korg towering above her with a warm smile on his face. “Very unhygienic.” 

 

Carol can’t tell if he’s genuinely being sincere with his advice or whether he’s winding her up. She decides to ignore the comment altogether. “Will your Queen be joining me today?”

 

“Yes,” he jumps up to sit on a ledge of rock, legs swinging underneath him, as he scratches his head in though. “She told me to tell you she’ll be down in a minute. She’s just getting her battle armor all sexy.” 

 

Carol barks out a laugh. “She’s what?” 

 

“Korg! Have you been keeping our guest occupied?” Valkyrie shouts, swaggering down to the port. 

 

Korg nods dutifully. “Yeah.” 

 

As Valkyrie approaches, her bag strewn over her shoulder still dressed in an amalgamation of Terran civilian and Sakarian scavenger clothes. Carol let herself look at her, at those strong arms that seemed to be out regardless of New Asgard’s harsh weather, at the way her hair bunches up in soft curls around her face. She sends a silent prayer to the stars that Fury isn’t here to see her staring.

 

Valkyrie, however, seems very aware. “Captain.” She smirks, looking Carol up and down like a prize meal. 

 

“Valkyrie.” Carol approaches her, holds her hand out a little awkwardly. “Nice to see you again.” 

 

Valkyrie shakes the hand with an amused smile at the formality. “Likewise.” She looks at the ship, frowning a little. “This thing doesn’t look very battle ready.” 

 

Carol shrugs. “It shouldn’t need to be, the main job is gonna be getting us in and out of places  _ discreetly.  _ Any fire power we come up against I’ll be more than capable of taking care of in the air.” 

 

Valkyrie raises an eyebrow at Carol’s cockiness, her mouth twisting as she seems to decide what to make of it. “Tell me there are at least some shields and a cannon.” 

 

“Oh Valkyrie loves a cannon, it’s like her thing.” Korg pipes up and Valkyries eyes widen a little. “ talks about them all the time. I’m more about political activism than violence myself.” 

 

Carol looks between Korg and Valkyrie, caught a little off guard. “I guess if you  _ need  _ a cannon we can make a stop.” 

 

Valkyrie shrugs and offers a coy grin. “A girls gotta have her toys.”

 

Carol can feel her face heating up a little at the insinuation. Korg hops off his rock and lumbers over to a crate on the dock. “You want me to carry this in?”

 

Valkyrie nods with a grateful smile. “Yeah, thanks Korg.” 

 

Carol tried to gather herself a bit while Valkyrie isn’t looking at her, straightening her shoulders a bit. “You sure you’ve got everything?” 

 

Valkyrie looks back to her, mirroring her posture. “Yeah, I’m sure.” She grins, clearly excited. “We ready to go then?” 

 

Carol smiles. “I’d say so.”  She holds her arm out toward the ship. “After you.” 

 

Valkyrie shakes her head and smiles at the gesture, leading the way onto the ship. Once in she turns back to face Carol, who almost walks into her, only stopping herself at the last minute. They’re close, Carol finds herself staring straight into the chocolate of Valkyries eyes, she glances away but lands on Valkyries full lips instead, just in time to see her take the bottom lip between two sets of white teeth. Carol steps back immediately, blushing profusely.  “You ok?” 

 

Carol nods, rubs the back of her neck awkwardly. “Yeah, no, I was just,” Carol pauses before she embarrasses herself further. “Were you gonna say something?” 

 

Valkyrie smiles like she has a secret and Carol sort of finds it the most infuriating thing in the world. “Are we in separate rooms or bunks? 

 

“Ah rooms,” Carol replies, willing herself to chill out. “Yours is D2, I’d show you it but it’s pretty obvious.” 

 

Valkyrie nods. “Ok.” She looks at Carol for a moment, almost as if trying to figure something out. 

 

Carol shuffles on the spot. “I’ll leave you to it then. I’ll just set the route up and see you when you’re done.” 

 

Valkyrie smiles in response and Carol excuses herself.  It was dawning on Carol that staying in close quarters with someone who was both  _ very  _ attractive whilst being able to  _ do  _ anything about it for three weeks probably wasn’t the best idea. But Carol’s been attracted to people of missions before and has never had a particular issue reigning it. 

 

Why should now be any different? 

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your reviews again, it's so nice to see that people are enjoying this. 
> 
> Carol and Valkyrie spend their first day together and it looks like they're both in for some UST.

It had been about an hour since they had set off. Carol had given Valkyrie a brief tour of the ship beforehand, although there wasn’t much to it; the two bedrooms situated on either side of the decidedly  _ cozy  _ kitchen and living area with a few steps up to the briefing area and into the cockpit. It had been a tense discussion, who would pilot and who would co-pilot, but Valkyrie had  _ graciously _ agreed to co-pilot so long as she got to take the reigns sometimes. 

 

The cynic in her isn't sure what to make of Carol. All of Valkyrie's experiences with Carol off the battlefield had lead her to believe that Carol is more than a little shy, with her easy blushes and bashful response to Valkyrie’s flirting. Valkyrie had assumed she was, as Thor had described Midgardian women,  _ delicate _ ; that wasn’t to say Valkyrie doubted carol’s obvious strength and intelligence (nor, she suspected, did Thor). But women on Asgard were usually pretty hard to offend and if you managed to succeed you tended to know about it very quickly. 

 

Carol’s stiffness, however, melted away almost immediately after the ship left earth's atmosphere. The hints of cockiness that had been there before suddenly became more prominent. It was almost as if Carol gained confidence directly from the stars. 

 

Valkyrie sits, watching Carol as she sets them up for hyperspeed. There could be no doubt of Carol’s beauty, the line of her jaw all the more visible with her short hair. Valkyrie glances up, to Carol’s lips, set in a line of concentration as she enters coordinates. Carol looks back at her for a moment and Valkyrie doesn’t hide her stare.

 

“Are you ready?” Carol smirks at her and Valkyrie would snark back about being born ready but she doesn’t wait for a response, instead deciding to just pull the hyperspeed lever before Valkyrie can even catch her breath. 

  
  


They pull through, just about, at their location a few disorientating seconds later. Valkyrie gasps, pulling a little on her seatbelt to ground herself.

  
  


Carol looks over to her and chuckles softly. “You sure you’re used to this?”

 

Valkyrie rolls her eyes waving Carol off even as her heart still thunders in her chest. “It’s been a while, ok. You didn’t exactly give me much warning.”

 

Carol nods sagely and adjusts some controls to bring them closer to their destination. “I see.” She leans back in her chair, resting her the back of her head in her hands and crossing her knees like she owned the place. “You can hold my hand next time if you like.” 

 

The offer would be better received, if not appreciated if Carol didn’t look at her with a sort of arrogant smirk that Valkyrie probably hated. Or at least she definitely should be hating right now. 

 

But Valkyrie had a reputation to uphold and no woman, no matter how damn cute, would ever be getting away with a challenge like that. Valkyrie stares at her with a stormy glare, her voice quiet in warning. “I’ll break it too if you don’t shut up.” 

 

Carol, to her credit, seems to know not to push any further. She hovers the ship over what seems to be a planet of scraps, not as filthy as Sakar, but piled high with old weaponry and engine parts. “If you’re after a cannon, I reckon here’s your best bet.” 

 

Valkyrie quirks a brow. “You sure there isn’t some nice shiny weapons depot you’re welcome at?” 

 

Carol laughs. “Not really, besides, Captain Marvel and Valkyrie strolling into a busy public place asking about cannons sure aren’t discrete.” 

 

Valkyrie smirks, all annoyance forgotten. “You call  _ yourself  _  Captain Marvel?” 

 

Carol blushes. “No,”

 

“It's fine I mean one of my best friends calls himself Thor, God of Thunder.”  Valkyrie shrugs. “If you’d rather go by that,” 

 

“Don’t push it.” Carol tries her best glare and Valkyrie would be intimated if not for the red still in her cheeks. 

 

Valkyrie unbuckles her belt and stands, climbing out of the cockpit to stretch her legs. Carol follows behind her and if Valkyrie didn’t know her any better she’d swear Carol had been looking right at her ass when she spins around. Carol nearly stumbles into her again but catches herself a little easier this time, looking more than a little flustered. 

 

“You’ve got to stop spinning like that, or we’ll both end up on the floor.” Carol admonishes and the replying innuendo is so on the tip of Valkyrie’s tongue she has to bite it to hold it back. 

 

Valkyrie instead huffs a little, shuffling like an impatient toddler. “Yes, Captain.” She rolls her eyes and points to the door. “Now let’s find a cannon for this baby.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  


It didn’t take them long to find a suitable cannon, Valkyrie seemed to have a very specific idea of what she wanted and they were keen to get out of the dry heat of the planet as soon as possible. 

 

Not that Carol was complaining, watching Valkyrie heave a spare part over her shoulder, wiping the thin sheen of sweat off her forehead before swaggering back over to the ship. She looks at Carol as she passes with an excited grin. “I can’t wait to get this bad boy sorted.” 

 

Carol smiles in return, overwhelmingly tempted to wipe the smear of grease off Valkyrie’s cheek, just over her a dimple.  She controls the impulse, annoyed at herself for even thinking about it. “You think it’ll take long?” 

 

Valkyrie shrugs. “An hour maybe? No more than two.” 

 

Carol nods. “Impressive.” 

 

Valkyrie’s eyes sparkle with delight. “I know.” She smirks and Carol tries her best to roll her eyes but ends up smiling despite herself. She has to get herself back in the ship as soon as possible, the heat is sending her giddy.

 

“Yeah, sure whatever. I’m heading in, we should probably go over the artifact files again before we start. Check we’re not missing something?”  

 

Carol would swear she saw a shadow of disappointment over Valkyries face but she looks away with a disinterested shrug. At the motion, Carol’s eyes a drawn back to her arms, her biceps in particular still strained under the weight of the part over her shoulders. Carol looks away before Valkyrie looks back at her but she has a feeling she was caught anyway because Valkyrie’s doing that damn smirk again like she can read her mind. “I’ll see you inside in a bit then?” 

 

Carol nods with a tight smile, shuffling off back inside the ship. As she passes through the cargo hold she spots the crate full of Valkyrie’s beers. She pauses, thinking of Valkyrie working away in the sun, it might be nice to, in the spirit of friendship, put a few bottles in the fridge for her when she returns. Maria used to do that if she knew Carol was coming over, she’d be waiting on the porch for her every single time. 

 

She shakes off the thought and grabs a handful of bottles to take up with her. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


By the time Valkyrie gets back into the ship, she’s more than ready for a rest. The job was easy enough, but the sun made the effort more grueling and she could feel her muscles aching in protest.  

 

She heads straight to the shower as she enters the ship, not bothering to acknowledge Carol on the way in. Not that Carol was likely to notice anyway, a brief glance confirmed that her head was buried in a file. 

 

The shower, as it turned out, was not bad for a ship of this size; Valkyrie noted the fancy toiletries left for them on the shelf and wondered which of the Avengers decided that they should be provided with toiletries for their missions. She pauses for a moment as she realizes it was almost certainly Tony as some sort of joke, he seemed most likely of all of them. 

 

Valkyrie wonders if this mission, in addition to her help with Thanos, makes her an Avenger too. The thought makes her smile, remembering the pride that Thor spoke with when he talked of his team of mighty heroes on earth. 

 

She steps into the shower, sighing into the steam as she begins to wash. 

 

She lets her thoughts wander to Carol as she sets to her task, of how cute she was when she was flustered. Valkyrie wonders, if only for a moment, if it might be worth testing her luck tonight. 

 

But screwing your mission partner on the first night of a three-week trip would never be a smart idea. Carol might not even let her, even though she was surely more relaxed now than she was in their earlier meetings. 

 

Plus Carol had been way too cocky for Valkyrie to conceivably give in from her end. Carol might be one of the hottest women Valkyrie had met but no one could win her over that easily. If Valkyrie was the one doing the seducing, that would be a different story. 

 

But Valkyrie would be damned if she let Carol think she had the upper hand. 

 

Valkyrie looks down to realize that she had actually finished washing a fair while ago and had been standing under the water lost in her thoughts. She quickly rinses off and gets out the shower, wrapping herself up in a fluffy towel as she goes. 

 

She exits the bathroom, only to see a red-faced Carol sitting at the kitchen table, choking a little on her drink at the sight of Valkyrie barely clothed. 

 

“I didn’t hear you come in, I was gonna go out and check on you in a minute.” Carol stammers as if a little embarrassed to even look at her.

 

Valkyrie shrugs. “I said I’d be an hour.” She internally debates leaving for a moment, let Carol do her reading in peace, but she thinks better of it. Carol changed out of her armor into a white tank top and dark blue jeans, showing the strength of her frame in a different way to her suit. Carol didn’t look soft, but she looked comfortable like she wasn’t going to blast anyone to the other side of space any time soon. 

“What have you been up to?”

 

Carol looks down at the papers as if suddenly remembering she was doing anything at all. “I’m trying to track who might be after this artifact. Would hate to run into any nasty surprises.” 

 

Valkyrie raises an eyebrow at that. “Anyone nasty enough you can’t take care of it?”

 

Carol chuckles, relaxing a little. “Not really, but it never hurts to know for sure.”  Carol pauses and she looks at Valkyrie expectantly. “Not to be rude but are you, like, going to get dressed?”

 

Valkyrie tuts and shakes her head. “You Midgardians and your modesty” 

 

Valkyrie struts over to her bedroom a little dramatically. “I put a beer in the fridge for you when you’re done!” Carol yells after her. 

 

Valkyrie stops in her doorway. “What?” She turns to looks at Carol who looks sheepish in return.

 

“It was hot outside, I figured you’d - there’s still plenty down in the hold if you don’t like them cold I just thought,”

 

“No, that’s lovely thank you.” Valkyrie cuts her off, not wanting her to misinterpret her reaction. “I appreciate it.” 

 

Carol just smiles and nods and her before returning to look down at her work. 

Valkyrie feels a  _ very uncharacteristic  _ blush creeping up her neck. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No spoilers but you guys are in for a treat next update.   
> Thank you for your reviews and kudos  
> I really do love these gals and I'm expanding a fair bit from the MCU, especially with Carol but I think they're not too far off.

It had been two days since they had set off, and they were only just ready to get the first artifact. Carol is already restless in the ship, itching to soar off and  _ do  _ something. 

 

But Valkyrie is all about strategy, and Carol’s impulse to get as many artifacts as quickly as possible might end up spooking the other sellers. Carol might pretend to have a huge ego, but she’s no idiot and Valkyrie spoke with the authority of someone who had lived off black market trading for years. Carol agreed to alter the plan around Valkyrie’s suggestions with very little hesitation. 

 

That, however, did not help the fact that she was now practically vibrating with energy from being trapped in a stationary ship. She’s not trapped, of course, she could slip out the hatch and go for a fly whenever she wants. But they had a job to do and Carol didn’t want to draw any attention to them. 

 

Valkyrie had been patient so far, ignoring Carol’s growing jitteriness and keeping them focused on the task at hand. It’s kind of hot, Carol thinks, the way Valkyrie takes charge of the plan. Of course the pent up energy hadn’t been helping her other pent up  _ energy  _ regarding Valkyrie, especially given that Valkyrie’s interest also didn’t seem to be fading. 

 

Carol’s just finished getting her armour on when Valkyrie knocks on the door.  “Come in.” 

 

Valkyrie peaks her head around the door, eyes sparkling with excitement as she pushes through to reveal her disguise, Carol grins at the sight, she looks like a sort of swaggery space pirate with black raggedy clothes and a smear of black around her eyes.  It’s an accurate disguise, sure, but Valkyrie always carried an elegance about her that combined with the ruggedness of this new look in a way which made Carol feel a whole lot of things. 

 

Valkyrie frowns and points toward Carol’s armour. “Carol we said discrete! You can’t seriously walk in there like that.” 

 

Carol holds a hand up to pause Valkyrie, who looks less than impressed, and uses the other hand to adjust the colour setting on her uniform so it shifted to a matt black. Carol imitates her signature battle pose, barely keeping her smile in. “Stealth mode!” 

 

Valkyrie rolls her eyes good naturedly and grabs Carol by the hand, pulling her out the room. “Come with me you big idiot.” 

 

Carol follows her into her room, trying not to be offended at Valkyries reaction. Valkyrie pulls Carol to stand in the middle of the room, smiling warmly at her for a moment before letting go to grab a suitable jacket from her wardrobe. Carol tried not to blush as Valkyrie helped her into it, not that she needed the help, but she isn’t going to complain about having her so close. Carol watches Valkyrie as she steps back, evaluating Carol’s appearance before turning to her dressing table.  “You gonna tell me what was wrong with stealth mode?” 

Valkyrie chuckles and returns to her with a jar of charcoal. “I take it you don’t do undercover all that often.” 

 

“I still don’t get what the issue is, you can’t even see the star.” Carol huffs, pretending to be annoyed. If she was honest any stealth operations she’d carried out in the past mostly involved her sticking to the shadows and using her powers to make a quick escape. Secret weapons market wasn’t exactly a look she had on hand. 

 

“The issue is that you look like Captain Marvel in a black suit.” She gathers up some of the face paint on her fingers. “Close your eyes.” Carol does as she’s asked and soon feels Valkyrie smearing the makeup over her eyelids. “Open.” Valkyrie commands and when Carol opens her eyes she sees that Valkyrie is a little closer than before. It would be so easy, Carol thinks, to just lean forward a little and kiss her. Valkyrie looks up at her through her eyelashes and reaches up, at first Carol thinks that she’s actually going to go for it, but her hand goes upward to twirl Carol’s hair around her fingers. “I think I need to mess up your hair.” 

 

Carol scoffs and leans back a little, grasping Valkyrie’s wrist in warning. “No way.” 

 

Valkyrie laughs softly but doesn’t press forward. “Please, come on, you look too proper.” 

 

Carol eyes her warily. “And why don’t you have to mess up your hair?” 

 

“Because I had the brains to braid it beforehand.” She twists her wrist out of Carol’s grasp, slowly, and moves her hand down to meet Carol’s. “Come on, we’ve gotta go.” 

 

Carol looks at her a moment, looks at her hand in her own and knows this is not a battle she wishes to fight. She nods once and Valkyrie grins in response, ruffling Carol’s her up with no small amount of satisfaction.  

 

Valkyrie steps back to admire her work. “Don’t worry, you still look dashing.” 

 

Carol is beyond hoping Valkyrie doesn’t notice her blushing, nethertheless she shrugs off the compliment with as much confidence as she can muster. “I’d hope so.” 

 

Valkyrie grins at her and gestures toward the door.  “Let’s go then!” 

 

Carol feels another surge of restrained energy and prays things will start feeling less intense sooner rather than later. 

  
  
  


\------

  
  
  


As it happened, the mission was going exceptionally well. They slipped into the warehouse unseen, security was lighter than expected but the dealer was small time enough that they expected little in the first place.  

 

Although it had turned out that this guy happened to have a whole load of other very dangerous tech, from kree weaponry to wakandan vibranium.  

That being said the collection was relatively small and fragmented, a few things looked long dormant and others broken. Even so, Valkyrie wonders if this dealer knows he’s sitting on a goldmine. 

 

Judging by the lax security, probably not. 

 

“Over here.” Carol whispers, beckoning Valkyrie over. 

 

Carol’s been jittery all day, if Valkyrie didn’t know better she’d say she was nervous, but if anything Carol was calmer the closer they got to the mission. All of her energy was currently focused directly on getting the artifact out as quickly as possible. 

 

Carol raised a golden chalice from the crate in front of her, grinning triumphantly. “This the one?”

 

Valkyrie checked it for a moment before mirroring Carol’s smile. “That’s the one!” 

 

They looked at each other for a moment, eyes sparkling, and it’s no great victory (it wasn’t even really a challenge) but it’s a piece of Valkyrie’s home and Carol’s looking at her like she knows what that means. 

 

“Thank you.” Valkyrie’s voice is soft as she places a hand over Carol’s. 

 

Carol offers a sincere smile. “Anytime.” 

 

Suddenly, the ground begins to thunder beneath them, a booming alarm blasting over them. “Shit.” 

 

Carol looks up, shooting photon blasts at three drone guards flying down at them, she throws Valkyrie the crate and blasts a final hole in the roof. “Grab a hold of me.” 

 

Valkyrie obeys the command, making sure she has a tight hold of both Carol and the crate. “What happened to being discrete?” 

 

Carol shrugs and uses another smaller blast to set fire to one of the crates. “Electrical malfunction.” 

 

Carol smirks down at her and Valkyrie would really like to do something to wipe it off but Carol blasts them off through the hole in the roof. Valkyrie squeals despite herself at the shock and Carol chuckles a little and holds her tighter in response. 

It takes them only a few mildly terrifying minutes to get back to their ship. By the time Valkyrie has put the crate in the cargo hold Carol has removed her disguise and combed her hair back in place, seemingly unbothered by the streaks of grey ash running through. 

 

They settle back into the cockpit while Carol quietly guides them out of the planets atmosphere. If anyone noticed the fire at the warehouse, it hasn’t been tracked back to them. 

 

Valkyrie’s glad for the quiet, if she’s honest, she should have known they would trip up security. She should have planned for it. Who knows what they lost in that warehouse. They had to be smarter. 

 

Carol sighs in frustration, bringing Valkyrie out of her thoughts. “What’s wrong?” 

 

“There’s too much interference from  the market to hyperspeed, I’ll have to drive manually for a bit.” Carol mumbles. 

 

“I can take over for a bit, if you want?” Valkyrie offers, and there's no challenge in it this time. 

 

Carol looks at her for a moment, her features cloud with an emotion Valkyrie can’t decipher. “No, its ok. You can head in actually, it’s gonna be a couple hours I think.” 

 

Valkyrie nods. “If you’re sure?” 

 

Carol smiles at her and any uncertainty Valkyrie felt melts away. “Honestly it’s fine, I think we could both do with some alone time anyway.” 

 

Valkyrie sags a little in relief, that Carol understands, that Carol feels the same. “Yeah.”  

 

\------

 

By the time Carol is ready to move, Valkyrie’s had time to change and to do the bulk of the prep for their dinner. Valkyrie was no cook, but she could manage a stew and she was lucky that Stark had insisted that all avengers space vehicles carry fresh food after his encounters with space food.  

 

Of course, eating directly before hyperspeed would be an exceptionally bad idea, but she had prepared enough so they only had to warm it through and eat it once they had gone through. 

 

“That smells insane.” Carol comments, stretching her back out, Valkyrie lets herself enjoy the view of Carol’s shoulders flexing. It’s strange, Valkyrie thinks, how she could have missed Carol a little bit in those few hours. Missed her enough to cook a meal for her. 

 

“I aim to please.” Valkyrie smiles at her, unable to help herself. 

Carol readies the hyperspeed lever but pauses, looking over to Valkyrie. “I’m gonna do it now.” 

 

“Ok, I’m ready.” Valkyrie shuffles back in her seat. 

 

Carol is still looking at her expectantly. “Are you sure?” 

 

Valkyrie rolls her eyes. “Yes I’m sure.” 

 

“Ok.” Carol replies. “Doing it now.” 

 

Valkyrie is just about to reach over and pull the damn lever herself but Carol beats her to it, hurtling them into hyperspeed. 

 

It’s over just as quickly as it started. Carol turns to her, as excited as Valkyrie thinks she’s seen her. “Can you park somewhere for me? I just want to freshen up before we eat. “ 

 

“Yeah of course.” Carol switches the controls to Valkyrie, before climbing out and giving Valkyrie a more than ample view of her ass in the process. 

 

Valkyrie of course, isn’t one to hide her affections and when Carol turns around she makes no efforts to hide her line of sight. 

 

Carol scoffs and Valkyrie shrugs in response. “Eyes on the job.” 

 

Valkyrie turns back to the controls with a smirk. “Aye Captain.” 

 

Carol turns back with a huff and Valkyrie wonders where the line has shifted to over these past few days. There’s a respect there, underneath the rivalry and the flirting, and they worked well together because of it. But the attraction hadn’t faded and the rush of the mission only added to it, that wasn’t even counting the particular type of butterflies Carol brings out when she’s just relaxed in the ship.  The truth is that everything Valkyrie saw of Carol, she liked, and the more she saw the more she liked. 

 

Gods, Valkyrie has been alive long enough to know she is in trouble.

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your lovely comments.  
> I'm going to have to take a weeks break from this for my exams  
> but I left you some smut lol  
> please let me know what you think!

Carol has already finished setting the table when Valkyrie walks in, the stew warmed and served with a hearty chunk of bread for each of them. Valkyrie smiles and the sight and Carol hands her a drink as she steps down toward the table. 

 

Valkyrie pauses and looks Carol up and down. She’d changed from her armor to a distinctively Midgardian flannel shirt, her hair now clean and brushed back in its normal style. “You scrubbed up.” 

 

Carol shrugs. “You made dinner, so I figured I best make the effort.” 

 

Carol sits herself down, Valkyrie following in the seat opposite. “It’s a good job, I wouldn’t have let you at the table if you had ash in your hair.” 

 

Carol scoffs. “ _ Let me? _ Are you gonna tell me to go wash my hands before we eat too?” 

 

Valkyrie sips her drink, brow raised in questioning. “You wouldn’t have anyway?” 

 

Carol shakes her head. “Yeah of course. It’s just like something a mom would say.” 

 

Valkyrie raises her head in understanding. “I can’t remember my mother.” It’s a simple statement, the hurt of it had long since faded but Carol looks at her with these big sad eyes and it’s clear she’s touched a bit of a nerve. 

 

“Me neither,” Carol admits, but the sadness crosses over her face in an instant as she seemed to focus in on her meal instead. “My grandma used to make me stew though.” 

 

Valkyrie doesn’t think she’s ever heard Carol speak of her family before, she knew through Thor that Carol was a pilot on earth before she got her powers but her past before that was a mystery to everyone. The only person to actually know anything of Carol’s past is Nick Fury, the  _ only  _ person more mysterious than Carol. “I can’t promise it’s as good.” 

 

Carol laughs and looks back up at her. “No it was awful, she cooked it to mush.” Carol shakes her head at the memory. “She made up for it with dessert though. Best pies you could imagine.” 

 

“Pies for dessert?” Valkyrie asks, breaking Carol out of her thoughts. 

 

“Yeah like fruit pies though, not like the ones you have in Asgard,” Carol explains. 

 

“I see.” Valkyrie wonders whether to push and ask more, but questions could well lead to questions into Valkyrie’s past and that was one can of worms she really didn’t want to open. She leaves a pause for Carol to elaborate herself, but she doesn’t take it. 

 

They eat in relative silence, aside from the occasional comment about the food. They steal glances at one another every now and again, Valkyrie isn’t sure if they’ve suddenly become shy or one of them is waiting for something to happen. If she’s being honest with herself, and on her fourth ale of the night she ought to be, Valkyrie can’t really think of a reason not to want something to happen with Carol at this point. 

 

She looks at Carol and she wants to know more. 

 

“Were you nervous today?” Valkyrie asks because she can’t stop herself. 

 

“What?” Carol scoffs. “No way. This was a small thing.” 

 

Valkyrie nods. “I didn’t think you should have been. You were just pretty jittery, I didn’t know if you had something to be nervous about that I’m missing.” 

 

Carol rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. “Oh yeah, that was nothing.” 

 

Valkyrie raises an eyebrow. “Nothing? Carol at one point you looked like you were gonna vibrate through the ship.” 

 

Carol shrugs. “Honestly, it’s nothing to worry about. I just get a lot of energy if I don’t get to fly for a while, I’m fine now though.” 

 

“Ah, that makes sense.” Valkyrie leans back in her chair. “Why didn’t you just have a run out last night or something.” 

 

Carol takes a sip of her drink. “Because I didn’t want to be all glowy around the ship and draw attention.”  She rolls her shoulders back in relaxation. “It’s fine though.” 

 

“It’s gonna be another few days before we get out again, what happens if you need to release some more energy?” Valkyrie asks, unsure of how exactly Carol’s powers worked. “Are you gonna go supernova or something?” 

 

Carol laughs. “It’s not like that. It’s just a little uncomfortable, nothing I can’t handle.” 

 

Valkyrie nods. “Is flying the only way you can expend the energy?” 

 

“Nah photon blasts do it too.” Carol smirks. “And most cardiovascular exercise.” 

 

Valkyrie grins, resting her head in her hand, the image of Carol working out floating pleasantly around her head.  Carol’s leaning forward, likely a little tipsy from her own drinks and Valkyrie thinks she’s the dreamiest thing she’s seen in a long time. “Surely you can do that in here though.” 

 

Carol makes a point of looking around them. “There”s not exactly a running track in here and I’d have to waste time doing like a thousand jumping jacks.” 

 

Valkyrie raises an eyebrow and leans in herself, just a hint of a challenge in her voice. “There are other types of cardio.” 

 

It takes Carol a moment to gauge Valkyrie’s meaning but when she does her eyes widen and she takes an almost comical gulp. “Types of cardio appropriate for the mission.” 

 

Valkyrie smiles devilishly. “You don’t really seem like the type of person who cares what other people deem appropriate.” 

 

Carol seems to be weighing up her options in her head and Valkyrie is determined to let her do so. After a moment, a wave of desire seems to cross Carol’s face, all hesitance forgotten. She reaches forward to cup Valkyrie’s chin, gently pulling her closer.  “I think you’re right.”

 

The movement is possessive in a way that Valkyrie is sure she wouldn’t like from anyone else, but she feels like she’s been waiting years for it and there’s this intensity to Carol’s gaze that Valkyrie could never deny.  Carol makes her wait for a few seconds, gently running her thumb across Valkyrie’s jaw in a way that felt both tender and controlling. 

 

Finally, Carol closes the gap and kisses Valkyrie with a burning desire, almost throwing their empty plates on the floor as they met each other on the table. Valkyrie kisses back with equal fervor, letting her hands fall on Carol’s hips to grasp the belt loops of her jeans and pull her closer still. Carol gasps into the kiss and knots a hand in Valkyrie’s hair, thankfully now lose from its braid. 

 

Valkyrie rolls them off the table and toward the sofa, taking Carol’s lower lip between her teeth in a way that cut straight between gentle and rough. Carol makes a sort of soft grunting noise and flips them so that when they land on the sofa Valkyrie is sitting on her lap. Valkyrie’s hands go up to tug at the hem of Carol’s shirt and Carol pulls away, placing her hands over Valkyries. 

 

“It has buttons.” Carol mumbles and Valkyrie breathes a laugh of relief. 

 

Valkyrie kisses her again, softer than before. “Oh, that’s perfect.”

 

She pushes Carol down to lie back on the sofa, straddling her thighs so that she hovered above. Carol looks impatient to be on the bottom but doesn’t protest as Valkyrie kisses her with filthy intention, moving from her lips to her jaw and then down to her neck. Carol gasps as Valkyrie nibbles lightly on the sensitive skin there, reaching up to slowly begin to undo Carol’s buttons. 

 

Valkyrie moves her attention downward as she reveals more underneath Carol’s shirt, the sharp line of her collar bone, down her smooth chest to the soft swell of her breasts. Valkyrie kisses just to the top of Carol’s bra as she undoes the last button and Carol sits up to remove the shirt as Valkyrie undoes her bra. 

 

However, before Valkyrie can push Carol back down and return her attentions to her now tantalizingly bare breasts., Carol plants her hands firmly on Valkyries ass and pulls her forward onto her lap. The move knocks her off balance a little and Carol catches her in a kiss and a smile. 

 

Valkyrie pulls away to let Carol pull her top over her head. “Is this how we’re doing this?” 

 

Carol shrugs and reaches to remove Valkyrie’s bra. “You had your fun, lemme have mine.” 

 

Carol kisses the valley between Valkyrie’s breasts. “Oh, that was not my full go.” Valkyrie protests in a gasp as Carol takes a nipple in her mouth, sucking it between her lips. Valkyrie lets herself enjoy the feeling for a while but taps Carol’s shoulder before she can get too into it. Carol pulls away in confusion. “That wasn’t my full go, Carol.” 

 

Carol grins. “Whatever,” she presses a kiss upon Valkyrie’s nipple “you,” another kiss, this time between her breasts, “wish.” Carol sucks the other nipple into her mouth, sending a pulse of pleasure straight between Valkyrie’s legs. 

 

It isn’t long before Valkyrie finds her hips thrusting against Carol involuntarily. Noticing the action, Carol teases her fingers around the button of Valkyries pants, slowly undoing it. Valkyrie’s hips jerk over Carol’s hand as she slips her hand inside to cup Valkyrie over her panties, the feeling too much and not enough at the same time. Valkyrie knows she’s embarrassingly wet and when Carol ruins her fingers over the top of Valkyrie’s panties she’s sure to know too. 

 

Carol pulls away from Valkyries now very sensitive nipple. A Cheshire cat grins across her face. “You’re so wet.” 

 

Valkyrie leans down to kiss her passionately. “What are you going to do about it?” 

 

Carol chooses that moment to slip Valkyrie’s panties aside and rub her clit oh so lightly. “Is this what you want?” 

 

Valkyrie gasps at the sensation, only serving to make her more and more sensitive as her brain begins to go dumb with desire. Her eyes screw shut as Carol’s lips return to her nipple and her fingers rub slow steady circles over her clit.  “More.” 

 

Carol bites down on her nipple and presses hard on her clit at the same time before removing her lips and hands from Valkyrie entirely. Valkyrie cries out, both at the shock and the loss, her eyes open to see Carol looking at her with a mixture of delight and lust and she knows that she is just getting started. “On your back.” 

 

Valkyrie complies, not usually one to be told what to do but Carol has her wound so tightly she’ll do about anything at that moment. Carol removes Valkyries pants and panties in one quick motion and Valkyrie is about to insist that Carol do the same but she’s back between her legs in an instant, kissing the sensitive skin inside her thighs. 

Valkyrie winds a hand through Carol’s hair, knowing that she’s dripping for her, knowing Carol can see her. She looks down just in time to see Carol’s tongue peak out before it disappears in Valkyries folds. The sight and sensation combine to draw a high pitched whine from Valkyrie as she thrusts her hips a little into Carol’s mouth. 

 

Carol licks upwards, her mouth covering Valkyries swollen clit as she gently sucks on it. The feeling is heavenly, every time her clit becomes too sensitive Carol dips down to taste her dripping entrance, teasing it with her tongue just long enough for Valkyrie to crave something inside her. 

 

She rocks her hips into Carol’s mouth. “I need you inside.” 

 

Carol lifts her head from between Valkyrie’s thighs. “What was that?” Carol lifts her fingers to run feather-light circles around Valkyries entrance. 

 

“Come on.” Valkyrie whines. “Stop playing and fuck me.” 

 

Now  _ that  _ seems to be a request that Carol takes seriously. 

 

Carol adjusts her position slightly, lines two fingers up with Valkyries entrance whilst rubbing her thumb across her clit. Carol’s head is now up next to Valkyries, her eyes almost black with desire as she watches Valkyries face instantly. “As you wish.”

 

Carol thrusts into her so quickly Valkyrie can barely catch her breath. Carol seems to know how to get the angle just right, and the relentless pace keeps her constantly stimulated.  Carol kisses her again, and it’s so soft in comparison that Valkyrie could easily mistake it for tenderness. 

 

It doesn’t take long and Carol’s lips trail downwards once more to lick and suck at Valkyrie’s clit. Her back arches off the bed at the feeling, the intensity of Carols fingers inside of her building and building as she is driven closer to the edge. Carol doesn’t let up, watching Valkyries face screw up in pleasure as she flicks her tongue over her clit. 

 

The building tension within her begins to reach its boiling point, she chants Carol’s name like an ancient prayer until Carol adds a third finger and  _ hooks _ on her thrusts. Valkyrie tumbles into her orgasm, her whole body pulsing with pleasure as Carol helps her ride out the feeling. 

 

Eventually, Carol’s lips become too much and Valkyrie pulls her head up by her hair. Carol slows her fingers and they kiss lazily as Valkyrie waits for the tingling to die down. 

 

“How was that?” Carol asks with the goofiest grin, and it's a stupid question because Valkyrie was literally shaking a moment ago. Valkyrie reaches up to caress Carol’s face, feeling her smiling cheek in her palm. 

 

Carol removes her fingers as slowly as possible and Valkyrie closes her eyes at the sensation, biting her lip as Carol still rubs her fingers through her folds another few times. Valkyrie grabs Carol’s hand and takes her wet fingers into her mouth, cleaning them thoroughly, moaning at the taste of herself. She lets go of Carol’s fingers with a wet pop as Carol watches her with rapt attention, not so subtly rubbing herself on Valkyrie’s thigh. “You know how it was,” Valkyrie says simply, not wanting to lose face after the earth-shattering orgasm she had just had. 

 

Carol opens her mouth to say something else but the communications beacon blasts around them, the volume on the notification way too loud. 

 

Carol jumps up in surprise at the noise, hands already glowing in preparation for whatever threat may lay ahead. She relaxes as she recognizes the alert before her eyes widen comically. “Shit.” 

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ok so I know I said I wasn't going to update this week but you're lucky because I've been using this to procrastinate studying. 
> 
> So here's a very long chapter, I'll warn you it's pretty intense. 
> 
> I'm taking this is a pretty different direction tone-wise than I usually take things, so please let me know what you think. :)

Valkyrie jumps into action, shoving Carol’s shirt into her hands as she gathers her own clothes together. “You go answer, say i’m in the shower or something.” 

 

Carol nods dumbly and shoves her shirt on, quickly running to answer the call. 

 

A holographic Nick Fury stands before her looking less than impressed. “Captain! Looking comfortable I see.” 

 

Carol glares at him. “Do you bother all of the avengers this much? Or just me?” 

 

Fury seems to look around her, although they both know he can’t see her surroundings. “Where’s Her Royal Highness?” 

 

“In the shower. You’ll be pleased to know we retrieved our first artifact today.” Carol tries to keep her language as neutral as possible. 

 

Fury squints at her suspiciously. “Enjoying yourself?” 

 

Carol shuffles on the spot, more than a little uncomfortable from the ache between her legs and very eager for Fury to get on with whatever it was he had to tell her and leave her to get back to Valkyrie. “Was there something you needed? I was pretty busy.” 

 

Fury’s posture changes and his teasing suspicion becomes wary concern. “Maria called me.” 

 

Carol freezes, her eyes dart to the doorway where she can see Valkyrie in the other room, a brick of guilt hitting her in the chest. “You both know not to contact me with personal things on missions.” 

 

Carol’s voice is cold and it’s not that Carol isn’t genuinely glad, to know for sure that Maria is safe and well and thinking of her. But they made a deal long ago, since calls home were so painful when Carol couldn’t easily return, that they would only contact each other when Carol was on earth. 

 

“I told her that.” Fury’s voice is as calm and as cautious as he ever can be and Carol wishes she could at least be annoyed at him for bringing her this when he knows who she’s with. 

 

Carol sighs and runs her hands through her hair, looking up at the ceiling of the ship in exasperation. “Is everyone ok?” 

 

“Everyone’s fine. She just wanted to let you know that Monica set a date for the wedding.”  Fury puts his hands up in appeasement. “We  _ both _ thought it’s better to let you know now before you start making any more intergalactic promises and double book.” 

 

The news hits Carol square in the chest. “When is it?” 

“June. I don’t need to tell you it would mean a lot to both of them if you were there.” Fury answers before being distracted by something on his end. “Listen Danvers, I gotta go. Get that shit home quickly please, your damn flerkin is driving me crazy.” 

 

With that Fury cuts the connection and Carol is left standing alone. Monica had grown so quickly, she hadn’t seen her since she finished college and while the occasional contact with Maria kept her vaguely updated of the general milestones, it still isn’t the same. Carol hasn’t even met the person Monica is marrying, doesn’t even know their name. 

 

There was a time, when Monica was little, that Carol thought of her like her own. When she was a baby, Carol was the best at getting her not to cry; her voice almost instantly calming her as Carol would sing softly to her. The memory hurts, not least because she  _ chose  _ to leave her behind. 

 

No matter how supportive Maria tries to be, Carol knows there’s some resentment there, knowing that they could have rebuilt their family while Monica was still young. Knowing that Carol chose to help strangers on the other side of the galaxy instead. 

 

But it wasn’t a choice, not to Carol, it was a duty. She had too much blood on her hands not to help the people she had wronged and too much anger for the Kree who tore her away from her family. The choice came later, when the Skrull refugees had resettled and Monica was just finishing high school. 

 

Carol came back to Earth for a while, aiming to find some balance where she could have both lives, or at least try. Of course, Maria hadn’t waited for her, Carol hadn’t expected her to. It had been almost thirteen years since she first disappeared, Carol hadn’t actually expected Maria to put her life on pause, she knew they had both seen other people. But her relationship with Maria was always so covert, fearing for their jobs and their safety if they got found out, they publically never acted like more than friends. They couldn’t even really be that open in front of Monica for fear she might say something in school, the work they were doing was so important, they figured it would all be worth it one day. 

But Carol disappeared and came back and then left again and Maria moved on. 

Watching Maria with someone else still hurt, especially now that Monica was old enough that Maria and her new partner could be open as a family. At least with their friends. 

 

Carol became sure on that trip, that she must leave that life behind. It hurt too much to be the outsider with the only family she had ever known. 

 

In the blink of an eye Carol had missed her chance. 

 

“You ok?” Valkyrie’s voice rings out from the doorway, breaking Carol from her thoughts. Carol realises she must have been standing on the spot for quite some time. 

 

“Yeah I’m,” Carol clears her throat and rubs the back of her neck with an anxious smile. “I’m fine.” 

 

Valkyrie watches her carefully, like she’s afraid she’s about to cry and Carol’s not even sure that she hasn’t already. “Are you sure?” 

 

The questioning would annoy Carol were she not already a bit overwhelmed by the whole situation, the haze of both the alcohol and sex heightening her emotions. She takes a deep, shaky breath, beyond embarrassed. “I’m fine.” 

 

Valkyrie takes a step forward placing a hand on Carol’s shoulder reassuringly. “We don’t have to,” She shrugs her shoulders a little awkwardly “Continue.” 

 

Carol looks at her for a moment and wants to snap, wants to say something cruel and fly off into space and forget the whole damn thing even happened. Because there was a reason that Carol didn’t normally do this and she should never have even  _ created  _ this situation. 

Because Carol doesn’t do concern and she doesn’t do tender. Valkyrie’s offer might be intended as an out, an acknowledgement that Carol’s feelings may have changed, but it stung like a challenge. 

She moves Valkyrie’s hand off her shoulder and tries to take a deep breath, the taste and smell of Valkyrie still all over her. Truth be told she’s still intoxicated by her and the heat of annoyance at her concerned expression only amplifies it. There’s a part of Carol’s ego that can’t stand it, hates that Valkyrie is seeing her this exposed. 

 

Carol surges forward, taking Valkyries face in her hands, meeting her lips in a bruising kiss. Valkyrie is stiff for a moment before reluctantly letting Carol take the lead as she backs them into the wall. 

 

Carol knows she’s being rougher than before, but can’t really bring herself to care, dipping down from Valkyrie’s lips to suck on her neck. She’s grateful that Valkyrie only bothered to cover up with a large overshirt, as she runs her hands under it to grab Valkyrie’s bare ass. 

 

Valkyrie leans away as much as she can against the door gasping for breath as she pushes Carol’s shoulder. “Carol.” 

 

Carol pulls away to look at her, completely dominant as she moves a hand from Valkyrie’s ass to draw slow lines on her stomach instead. “Yes?” 

 

Valkyrie groans eyes screwed shut. “I’m not sure this is a good idea right now.” 

 

Carol moves her hand down, tantalisingly close to where she wants to be. “Look at me.” 

 

Valkyrie obeys and Carol begins to draw patterns with her fingers on the insides of Valkyries still sticky thighs. She looks a little desperate, Carol thinks, pupils blown wide, swollen lips, chest heaving; Carol wants her so badly she can barely think. 

 

“I’m fine and I want this.” Carol says, because she knows Valkyrie thinks she’s upset, she kisses her cheek softly, willing her to relax. “Do you? 

 

Valkyrie nods, seemingly convinced, she winds a hand through Carol’s hair pulling her down for a kiss as Carol reaches up to rub harsh circles around her clit. She’s still so hot and wet and Carol suspects she is still sensitive from her last orgasm from the way her hips jerk up at the attention. Carol moves her fingers down to Valkyries entrance, unable to stay away for long, thrusting two digits into her at a brutal pace. 

 

Carol allows herself to enjoy this, Valkyrie tugging on her hair as Carol fucks her harder than any human could. Carol keeps Valkyrie pressed against the wall unable to escape, while kissing exposed skin of her neck. Valkyrie gasps turn into moans as Carol keeps up her pace each thrust harder than the last.

 

Carol feels Valkyrie getting tighter around her fingers and she shifts her thumb to rub against her clit in response. Valkyrie’s hips falter against her as she clamps down on carol, flooding her hand with a new batch of wetness in her building orgasm. 

 

“Carol!” She moans and Carol just grins and fucks her through it until she slumps against her. 

 

Carol removes her fingers once they’re released and gently turns Valkyries head to kiss her.  Valkyrie hums in satisfaction as Carol picks her up, wrapping her legs around her waist and allowing herself to be carried back over to the sofa. 

 

Carol puts her down and flops herself down on the other side of the sofa, happy to let Valkyrie catch her breath for a moment. 

 

For a second Carol had forgotten about Fury’s phone call, but the second the rush of fucking Valkyrie began to fade, the situation begins to weigh on her. 

 

Truth be told, Carol most certainly doesn’t want a relationship with Valkyrie despite the attraction between them. Fury only served to remind her of why she doesn’t let herself to get into these things. But she still just fucked Valkyrie  _ twice  _ and it’s not as if she can just fly away before sunrise. 

 

Carol looks over to Valkyrie, who seems to be fully recovered and watching Carol carefully. “I know that look.”  She says, voice soft and uncharacteristically appeasing. 

 

Carol shuffles uncomfortably. “Listen, Valkyrie,”

 

“Trust me, I get it” Valkyrie interrupts. “This is just two people,” she leans over to press a soft kiss on Carol’s cheek “getting something” another kiss right behind her ear, “out of our systems.”

 

Carol relaxes a little, glad that her hesitation is understood. Valkyrie takes Carol’s earlobe into her mouth and suckles on it gently and Carol is reminder of how painfully aroused she is. “So you’re cool with this being a one time thing?” 

 

“Honestly I think it’s ideal.” She pulls away and sets to the task of undoing Carol’s shirt. “But if that’s the case we better make the most of it.” 

 

Valkyrie kisses down Carol’s body, taking her time to kiss down to Carol’s breasts, lavishing them with attention. She takes a pert nipple into her mouth, intermittently nibbling and soothing it with her tongue, Carol bites back a moan at the feeling. 

 

It doesn’t take long before Valkyrie takes her attentions lower still, trailing down from Carol’s chest down to her belly button, spreading Carol’s legs so that she can fit between them. 

 

Valkyrie dives into Carol like she’s a three course meal, eating her out so enthusiastically and with so much clear experience that Carol can’t help but shout out in delight. “Oh my god.” 

 

Valkyrie looks up at her from between her legs, chocolate eyes glimmering with desire, she sucks Carol’s swollen clit into her mouth and Carol swears she can see stars. 

 

Carol has been turned on for so long, Valkyrie doesn’t take long to build the pleasure up to the point where Carol fears she might explode. Carol thrusts her hips against Valkyries mouth, grasping at the fabric of the sofa cushions for leverage. 

 

Valkyrie lets her for a while but soon Carol’s moans become higher pitched and Valkyrie pins her hips to the seat, increasing the intensity of her tongue on her clit. It doesn’t take long for the building wave of Carol’s orgasm to crash. 

 

Carol cries out, moving her hands to grip the top of Valkyrie’s head as she works her through it, tingles erupting over her whole body. 

 

The intensity of the feeling fades and carol sags against the sofa in exhaustion. She pulls Valkyrie’s head up to kiss her, moaning into her mouth as she tastes herself on Valkyrie’s lips. 

 

Valkyrie pulls away after a moment, a soft smile on her lips. “You good?” 

 

There’s nothing in Valkyrie’s tone to suggest they’d been doing anything more intimate than washing dishes. Any worry Carol had about things being complicated quickly fades away. “Very.” Carol smiles, stretching out her limbs with a satisfied yawn. 

 

Valkyrie stands, offering Carol a hand up. “What time are we meeting that trader tomorrow?” 

 

Carol lets Valkyrie pull her up and throws her shirt back over her shoulders. “Not till after lunch but I wanted to look over some translations in the morning.” 

 

Valkyrie nods. “Thats good with me, could do with an easy morning.” She winks and Carol really would find it repulsive if it were almost anyone else. 

 

“Oh god shut up.” Carol pretends to cringe anyway, dramatically flipping her now absent hair. Valkyrie laughs but the moment fades and they’re left sort of staring at each other with nothing to say. Carol sighs and shuffles on her feet. “It’s not gonna be weird, right?” 

 

Valkyrie shrugs. “There’s no reason for it be. We just go straight back to normal.” 

 

Carol runs her hand through her hair in thought. “We can do that.”

 

“Of course!” Valkyrie smiles, just certain enough for Carol to believe her. “That being said I’m probably gonna,” She points at her bedroom door with her thumb with an awkward laugh. 

 

“Yeah of course, me too.” Carol replies, feeling uncharacteristically unsure. She turns and heads to her room, eager to put a bit of distance there. 

 

She turns back to Valkyrie to nod, a little too formally, who offers her an amused smile in return. She shuts her door behind her as soon as she’s in the room, leaning against it with her head in her hands.

 

What the fuck is she doing?

  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath!   
> plus another mission!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only took me a couple of months to figure out a plot lol, thank you to anyone who's stuck with this fic and to all the lovely people commenting and reminding me to return to this.

Valkyrie doesn’t know whether to be relieved or worried when she wakes up to find that Carol has made them breakfast. 

 

To say that Carol’s mood had been erratic last night would be a severe understatement. One moment she was playful and flirtatious, then Fury called and suddenly her whole demeanor shifted. Valkyrie hadn’t heard much of the call but caught Fury mention a woman’s name and a wedding; Valkyrie was wise enough not to want to push. 

But Valkyrie actually quite likes Carol, not even in an inherently romantic way, and seeing her look so upset when she’s always so strong, stirred a protective concern in Valkyrie. Carol had not responded well to the concern, however, at one point turning so cold that Valkyrie began to really regret bothering. 

Then, like the flip of a switch, Carol was all over her again. Gods Valkyrie would have left her to work out her shit some other way but Carol is so ridiculously  _ good _ at fucking. Carol was just dominant enough to make Valkyrie lose her head a bit, a feat few have ever achieved. Plus there was something about Carol’s honorable persona that made seeing that feral look in her eyes  _ crazy  _ hot. 

Then it was over and Carol was looking at Valkyrie with some weird mixture of worry and something Valkyrie couldn’t quite put her finger on. Valkyrie decided not to decode it and instead focused on her more  _ relaxing  _ talents. 

Either way, Valkyrie had expected Carol to be, if anything, more closed off than before. Valkyrie would have understood that she’s had enough awkward morning encounters with crew members before to know that it usually returns to normal after a while, quicker in close quarters. 

 

However, walking into the kitchen, Valkyrie finds Carol focused on the task of making pancakes, the table set with fresh fruit and juice. Usually, Valkyrie would assume such a gesture to be a romantic one; but Carol had been clear last night that she didn’t want anything serious. Truth be told, neither does Valkyrie, her responsibilities on Asgard only adding to a long list of reasons she doesn’t want to go there. 

 

Carol seems to notice her hovering before Valkyrie decides how to react, flashing her a warm smile before returning her focus to flipping a pancake. 

 

“What’s all this for?” Valkyrie asks because it seems Carol isn’t going to just tell her like a normal person. 

 

“Well, you know, you made dinner last night, I wanted to do something nice.” Carols voice is warm and sweet and Valkyrie almost doesn’t recognize it.

 

“Well thank you.” Valkyrie sits at the table, resting her chin in her hands as she watches Carol carefully. “Thor tried making pancakes once, I swear he nearly burned New Asgard to the ground.”

 

Carol grins at her and plates up the food, bringing it over to sit opposite Valkyrie. “Are you the resident chef over there then?”

 

Valkyrie shakes her head with a scoff. “As if Korg would let me. He’s been getting really into artisanal bread-making recently and the whole kitchen is a war zone.” 

 

Carol laughs. “I’m sure Thor loves that.” 

 

Valkyrie shrugs. “He’s not as picky as you’d think, he’ll eat pretty much anything In front of him.” She takes a bit of the pancake, moaning appreciatively. “These are excellent though, I don’t think I’ve had any like this before.” 

 

 “You surely haven’t had many then.” Carol relaxes into the chair and pops a berry into her mouth with a casual air that is both frustratingly attractive and incredibly distracting.

 

Valkyrie grins. “Korg made some once, but he was still getting used to earth flours and it was very strange.” 

 

“I can imagine,” Carol replies, and Valkyrie can’t help but wonder if Carol even remembers the events of the night before. 

  
  
  
  


Once they finish their breakfasts and clean up, it’s more or less business as usual, Carol works out a navigation route whilst Valkyrie pours over files to figure out a more reliable plan for their next mission. 

 

Their skills work well together, Valkyrie always prefers to be with a team for these things and Carol shares her focus on the task at hand. Working with the Revengers was a chaotic experience, though she was fond of all of them, their ideas of the strategy weren’t quite what Valkyrie was used to. 

 

Hopefully, her tryst with Carol expelled any of the distraction that had impeded their first mission and they could give stealth another go. This time without blowing the whole place up. 

 

It helps, of course, that Carol seems to be making a sincere effort to be mature about the whole thing, Valkyries concerns about her behavior had all but dissipated. Yet, despite Carol’s assurances that she doesn’t want a relationship, she had certainly been sweeter that morning in a way that definitely suggested something had changed between them. But Valkyrie knows better than to second guess such things, whatever Carol’s motivations were is none of her business really.

 

Carol walks in from the navigation room with an excited grin, eyes sparkling green under the harsh fluorescent lights. “You’ll never guess where the next warehouse is.” 

 

Valkyrie raises a brow, holding up one of the many files scattered in front of her. “Delta 5?” 

 

Carol rolls her eyes and practically skips down the stairs. “And what else is on Delta 5?” 

 

Valkyrie doesn’t know whether to be amused or annoyed, but it seems that Carol is intent on making her guess. “Hmm, I haven’t been for a  _ long  _ time. Last time I was there were great big fire breathing dogs everywhere.” 

 

Carol nods sagely. “Those are still there, most of ‘em will let you pet them if you give them some treats though. But that’s not what I’m talking about.” 

 

Valkyrie laughs despite herself, wondering how many times Carol got burned before she figured that out. “Tell me then.” 

 

“Ok well there’s this bar,” Carol hops up to sit on the table, legs swinging beneath her as she talks. “Oh man you’ll love it, they’ve got more beers than you can possibly imagine and there’s this forest out the back and, man, it’s so beautiful. The trees sing to you at night! And there are these, like fireflies,” 

 

Carol rambles on excitedly until Valkyrie cuts her off. “That sounds nice and all but Carol,” Valkyrie sighs, trying to find the right words.

 

 “What?” Carol looks confused, a little embarrassed to be caught in her excitement. 

 

“It’s more important than ever that we aren’t seen anywhere near that warehouse after the fire last time. The last thing we need is people starting to string things together and move things out of access.” Valkyrie explains, its a weak excuse, but the very last thing she wants is to be out in some romantic singing forest with Carol when she was trying to keep things professional. 

 

“Oh don’t worry it’s super anonymous, that’s the whole deal. They give you these gnarly masks when you go in,” 

 

“Gnarly?” 

 

“Like cool but sort of ugly.” 

 

“I see” 

 

“But the point is, no one will even know we’re there but us.” 

 

Carol looks at her a moment, caught somewhere between hope and something that Valkyrie can’t quite name.  Valkyrie wishes she had the type of power to resist it. “Ok.” 

 

Carol beams at her and Valkyrie pushes down the swell of warmth she feels at the sight. “Oh man, you’re gonna love it!” 

 

“Just a few hours, Danvers. We can’t be taking risks. “ Valkyrie sighs, smiling despite herself. 

 

“Of course!” For a split second, it seems as if Carol is about to hug her, but she mercifully goes to the files instead. “No more mistakes.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  


As it happens, the motivation of their evening plans turns out to be a great focusing force for Carol. She follows Valkyrie’s plan word for word, almost always just a step behind in the shadows. All of her chaotic energy seems to be fully contained and honestly, Valkyrie is more than a little impressed at the difference. 

 

By the time they reach the artifact, Valkyrie is on high alert, they really can’t afford another mistake. 

 

Carol approaches the artifact gingerly, aware of Valkyrie’s wary gaze at the back of her head. “Be careful,” Valkyrie mumbles, as much to herself as to Carol. 

 

“Call me Careful Danvers.” Carol turns back with a smirk but Valkyrie glares in response, clearly unimpressed.  “Careful, gotcha.” 

 

Carol reaches for the box, prizing open the lid to check its contents. “All good?” Valkyrie asks, sighing in relief when Carol nods. 

 

Carol tosses the box to Valkyrie who tucks it carefully under her cloak. They quickly make their way to leave, darting behind the rows of boxes to stay hidden from the security cameras above. It blows Valkyrie’s mind how anyone looks down on Asgard’s supposedly primitive technology when these so-called intergalactic masterminds keep precious artifacts under the protection of mere computers. 

 

As if the universe had heard her thoughts, Valkyrie hears a voice. 

 

She pulls Carol close to a small gap between two stacks of crates in the hope that it will obscure them. Carol looks about to object but Valkyrie holds a finger to her mouth to shush her and points to the direction of the voice. 

 

 Sure enough, two burly looking green-skinned security guards stroll through the main entrance. Valkyrie recognizes the markings on their faces from some of the seedier bars on Sakar but she can’t think of what they mean. 

 

“This is everything?” One of the guards asks, clearly underwhelmed. 

 

“Yeah, we gotta get it all shifted tonight though.” The other guy grunts, Valkyrie can barely see him through the cracks in the crates. She chances a glance at Carol, who’s squinting at the guards with a fixed crease in her brow. 

 

“Half this shit is broken anyway, what good is it to the Kree?” 

 

Valkyrie sits back as quietly as possible, trying to scramble together fragments of memories of stories she’d heard about the Kree Empire whilst she was on Sakar. Damn wine, she can barely remember anything from those days and even if someone had directly told her anything, she never cared for anything other than her next paycheque. 

 

There is somewhere she’d heard of them, though, back on Midguard. Something to do with Nebula perhaps? 

 

Carol doesn’t react at all, just clenches that ridiculously chiseled jaw in concentration. 

 

“You’re asking too many questions, just grab something and take it to the loading bay.” The other guard huffs, gathering a few large boxes in his arms and making his way across the warehouse. 

 

Carol pulls Valkyrie closer as he passes, her eyes brewing that deep gold that signals she’s about to use her powers. Valkyrie places a hand on her shoulder and mouths “ _ discrete”.  _

 

Carol nods and settles a little.  They hear the doors to the loading bay open and close and they wait for the other guard to move. 

 

“You ask too many questions.” The guard imitates, putting on a gruffer voice to mimic the other. “Dick.” He huffs.

 

He takes a box and wades his way over to where the other guard disappeared.  

 

The second the door closes behind him, Carol grasps Valkyrie’s hand and tugs her up to her feet with barely a sound. 

 

“Run.” 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all of those lovely comments, I'm really trying to stick with a more regular update schedule.

**Author's Note:**

> hit me up on my tumblr trust-me-im-a-healer for bonus content


End file.
